Five weeks in, and Team 7UP has officially stopped flinching at thunder. If week one taught us that growth doesn’t knock politely, week five taught us that neither does South Dakota weather. Somewhere on turf this week, a teammate got caught in a full hour of rain. Somewhere else, another got a short but sharp burst of rain and hail that had them sprinting for the nearest porch. And on the very same days, in the very same state, someone else was melting in genuinely brutal heat. Same team, wildly different weather realities — that’s just how this summer works now.
Life on Turf: Long Days and Doors That Teach You Something
The rhythm is fully set at this point. Wake up, drive to eat breakfast, execs, drive until your legs stop asking questions, and somewhere in there have a conversation with a total stranger that either goes beautifully or goes nowhere — and you’ve got about four seconds to figure out which before the next door. Comfort zones don’t really exist for us anymore. We just call it Tuesday.
And the truth is, every door still teaches you something, win or lose. That was never more obvious than this week.
The Souvenir King
Matthias had one of those weeks where America just kept handing him things. He crossed paths with not one but two different salesmen named Austin, both — in his words — “super cool guys.” Somewhere along the way he also picked up an unofficial alias of his own, getting called “Mateo” more than once, and on the 4th of July itself he came agonizingly close to selling a family on fireworks, which feels almost too perfectly on-theme to be true. By the end of it all he’d also collected an entire bag full of souvenirs, because apparently that’s just what happens to Matthias now.
Flat Earth and a Mustang Burnout
Luise added another entry to the team’s growing collection of things people have earnestly explained to her, this time during a sit-down inside a family’s living room, when the homeowner spent the rest of the demo walking her through why the earth is actually flat. She stayed for the whole thing, nodding along and quietly questioning everything, and walked out with a story that is now permanently part of team lore. She also debuted an outfit for the 4th of July that the rest of us are still talking about.
Parvin, meanwhile, had maybe the wildest afternoon of anyone’s summer so far. After a good sit-down, the dad of the house offered him a ride in his old Mustang — and what started as a polite spin around the block turned into fifteen minutes cruising through town, capped off with an actual burnout. “It was crazy,” he said, and honestly, we believe every word.
Gifts, Tattoos, and a Very Diplomatic Husband
Liisa kept up her legendary reputation for unlikely cargo, hauling a waffle machine, a table lamp, and — in a “bigger or better” showdown for the ages — an entire hammock down the street, all while adding yet another Bible to her already impressive collection.
MMichael finally had his own gift-week moment, walking away with a fancy water bottle, a set of firecrackers, and a 12-in-1 tool he is already treating like a prized possession. He also came face to face with a dog that looked like it had lost track of its own size — eight months old, 125 pounds, and built like a small horse. He survived. The dog, presumably, did not even notice.
Gabriel, meanwhile, ended up talking to a high school principal — and after just five minutes, the principal was the one singing the praises of College Entrance Advantage and the rest of our products, unprompted. Turns out even the person running the school thinks what we’re selling is worth having.
Mari, true to form, brought full effort and full laughter to every conversation this week, and by Friday had apparently earned herself a slightly unusual walk as a badge of honor.
Fireworks, Freedom, and a Waterpark
The 4th of July hit different out here. We sat down together for a real team dinner, watched the sky light up with fireworks, and got a genuine, unfiltered taste of American independence spirit — loud, warm, and unapologetically proud. As you can see in the photos, it’s a night none of us are going to forget anytime soon. We also snuck in a well-earned trip to a waterpark, because even the most determined salespeople need a day to just be kids again.
By the Numbers
Behind the Mustang burnouts, the flat-earth theories, and Liisa’s ever-expanding gift collection, there’s still a mountain of actual work holding this whole summer together. Here’s how week five shook out:
| Metric | Last Week |
| Doors Knocked | 3 965 |
| Calls Made | 1 956 |
| Demos Done | 1 275 |
| Sitdowns | 489 |
Week Six, We’re Ready For You
Bring on the next storm, the next stranger with a wild theory about the planet, the next Mustang idling at the curb with the engine still warm. Team 7UP didn’t come this far to slow down now — we came to get louder, braver, and a little more unstoppable with every door. Let’s go. 🚪🔥✨
— Team 7UP
SW Eesti 